


Misadventures of the infamous

by loosingletters



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Cannibalism, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Ghoul Nagachika Hideyoshi, GhoulHideWeek2016, Humor, M/M, Original Character Death(s), i suppose???, sassy kaneki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-08-30 13:45:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8535451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loosingletters/pseuds/loosingletters
Summary: Nagachika Hideyoshi is a ghoul and Kaneki Ken does not appreciate being kept out of his only friend's life.
Therefore Kaneki selected to ignore Hide's warning and made himself at home in a nice café, dragging Hide along for the ride.





	1. A knack for ghouls

**Author's Note:**

> So this first chapter I posted in my OS collection but considering that I'll write all prompts for ghoul!Hide week in one AU, I thought it deserved its own story.
> 
> Day1: Hearing/Meetings.

By the time Hide finally got out of his lecture, Kaneki was already sitting on the steps leading into the university, a book on his lap and waiting for Hide. Seeing that his black haired friend was absorbed in his book, Hide decided to announce his arrival loudly. He jumped forward, only barely holding himself back from pouring his full strength into it, and landed precisely behind Kaneki.

"Hey, buddy!" The blonde shouted but instead of the desired high pitch scream that hurt his ears and would put even the best opera singer to shame, he only got a slight flinch and a blank stare.

"Really?" He asked disappointed. "Nothing?"

"No. Sorry to hurt your ego," Kaneki answered while he stashed his book in his backpack and stood up. "Are you ready then?"

Hide sighed. "You're too cold, man. My poor heart is suffering."

"I'm sure your heart can deal with it," Kaneki answered, an overly cheerful smile on his face which looked so out of place that Hide actually got scared.

"You okay, Kaneki? That smile is a bit-"

"I've been sitting here for nearly _an hour_ , Hide. An hour in which you didn't answer even one text and I've been more than just a bit worried because just this morning you told me more doves were seen in this ward and you might go after them. And then you don't answer any texts all day long! So, _please_ , excuse me if-"

"Alright, _alright_! I got it, you were worried!" Hide interrupted his now very distressed appearing friend. The blonde hold his hands in front of himself as to appear placating - or be able to push Kaneki off him should he decide to try to punch him. As much as Hide appreciated that Kaneki worried about him, the ghoul was sure that all these gruesome books Kaneki read made him fall into worry while imagining the worst case way too easily. "I'm sorry I didn't react to your messages, my phone is dead. I'll treat you to some amendment coffee, okay?"

That seemed to do the trick as Kaneki took a deep breath before answering. "Yeah, fine, okay. _Espresso_ your feeling of guilt. I choose the café though."

Ignoring Kaneki's horrible pun - really, that was an incredible terrible one even by Hide's low standards - he agreed and side by side they walked off campus.  
They talked about everything on their minds, avoiding only the topic of Hide's diet. It was in moments like these that Hide realized how much Kaneki had changed in the past year. Getting involved with the ghoul parts of Hide's life had altered Kaneki in a way the blonde hadn't expected. Whenever he had imagined Kaneki figuring it out, it had ended in bloodshed. Hide had known it was unavoidable for Kaneki to get involved at one point; the human had a knack for running into ghouls. The day on which Hide would have to reveal his identity to protect Kaneki had always been just a matter of time. Then it had happened and Kaneki had freaked out. Not about the ghoul thing though, more about _the oh god, you have a whole in your abdomen Hide, how could you be so stupid_ thing. The ghoul had expected that Kaneki would push him away at best, run to the CCG at worst. That they would stay friends and Kaneki would try his best to support him had never come to Hide's mind.  
His friend had opened up, started to spar with Hide - more like be taught how to run away from a bloodthirsty ghoul - and even went to the CCG to learn how they handle ghouls and how to use it to their own advantage.  
So all in all Kaneki was the best damn friend Hide could have made and he was so, so glad he had met Kaneki.

"We're here, Hide."

Kaneki's words tore Hide out of his thoughts. He hasn't really looked where they were going, had only followed Kaneki.  
They were standing in a nice café. It felt safe and-

Oh no.

"I've been here a few times already," Kaneki mused while looking at the carte. "It's a nice place, not too far from campus too."

Oh, _god_ , no.

This was just terrible. Out of all places- And Kaneki had been here on his own? It must have caused so much chaos the black haired man had been entirely unaware of.

"Kaneki, how about we go again-"

"Nii-san!"

Hide watched in horror as a short brown haired girl, Fueguchi Hinami he recalled her name, came running towards them and immediately hugged Kaneki.

"Hey, Hinami. How are you?"

"Good!" The girl answers cheerfully. "I already read all the books you gave me!"

"You did? I'll bring you some new ones next time then."

Kaneki smiled at her and Hide felt like he had missed out quite a lot. Like, a life changing amount of what he could only classify with _what the actual fuck_ right now.

"Kaneki, what-"

"When," Kaneki interrupted Hide, "where you doing to tell me that there is an entire café managed by peaceful ghouls? Because the first time I went here, I nearly had a heart attack and the only reason Touka-chan didn't bash my head in is because I was wearing the jacket I'd borrowed from you."

"Uuh-" Hide awkwardly scratched the back of his head, trying to think of a way to get out of this situation. "Aren't you supposed to introduce your family after the tenth date?"

_“Hide!”_


	2. Different to Strange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Yoshimura-san, is there a reason Hide could want me to wear his clothes?" "Ah, that’s an interesting question."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 2: Smelling/Regret.  
> Alternate summary: Ones does not simply tell ghouls to leave the Human™ alone.

Kaneki was well aware that Hide's behavior had gone from _different_ to _extremely strange_ within the last few weeks. Hide was always a bit clingy but lately it seemed like he couldn’t let Kaneki out of his sight at all. Therefore the human concluded that something was up. If Hide would rather hide Kaneki’s clothes after he fell asleep when they pulled all nighters together or purposefully ruin them in training sessions than tell Kaneki what’s going on, then something was definitely up and the chance Hide would tell him was next to nonexistent.

So Kaneki acted according to what he dubbed _Hide’s being a sneaky stupid ghoul protocol_ : He asked Touka.

He got along rather well with the waitress, their start had been rocky but ever since Hinami had taken a liking to him, he seemed to have risen in her ranking of people she could stand.  
Since he had scheduled lessons with Hinami on Mondays (and basically every other day he was spending time at Anteiku), he decided to just ask Touka then.  
Good-natured he walked from Kamii to Anteiku. He could take the bus too, but he rather enjoyed walking and observing the various people he encountered then. He still found it hard to believe that from all the people he saw outside, joking, laughing, _living_ , many of them feared for their existence that very second. Perhaps that was also the reason Hide seemed to live in the moment so much, he didn't want to leave any space for regrets should he never wake to see the next day.  
Kaneki sighed as images of his friend’s mutilated body came to his mind. He never wanted to see Hide like that again, on the brink of death and still trying to protect Kaneki.  
The student shook his head and grimaced, he hadn't meant to think of such dark things. Hide was probably right when he said that Kaneki found it way too easy to become pessimistic.

“Kaneki-kun? Don't you want to come in?”

The raven haired boy tore himself out of his thoughts as he was greeted by the smiling, of curious appearing, manager of Anteiku.

“Yoshimura-san!” Kaneki exclaimed, suddenly feeling very embarrassed. He hadn't even noticed that he had arrived. How long had he been standing outside of the café? Too long if the manager had come out. “I was lost in thought,” he explained himself.

“I noticed,” the man replied and held the door open. Quickly Kaneki stepped inside, leaving the cold of October behind.

“Thank you,” he mumbled and went to hang his jacket over a chair as Yoshimura already started on making Kaneki’s favorite coffee, which wasn’t all that different from a ghoul’s. The human enjoyed the bitter taste of the beverage, only with a bit of milk added.  
Hide always nagged at him for denying himself sweet food. The blonde had, as much as it was possible for a ghoul, a sweet tooth. Some parts of a corpse apparently tasted sweeter than others and Hide preferred those in particular. Not that kind of information Kaneki had necessarily needed but he kept it in mind anyway. If Hide were human, he’d probably eat all kinds of sweet things too. The ghoul had always stricken Kaneki as somebody who would eat unhealthily. Not that Kaneki would ever find it out now. Hide would always be stuck eating those body parts he deemed the most delicious.

“Kaneki-kun, are you feeling well?” Yoshimura asked as he set a cup of coffee and a lemon tart Kaneki knew he hadn’t asked for but would enjoy regardless, right in front of the boy.

“Yes, I’m fine-“

“You don’t need to act as if everything is always fine. It must be taking a toll on you to be constantly confronted with new things.”

The manager appeared worried and Kaneki bit on his lip until he could taste blood. That wasn’t it- not exactly. He had always been good at adapting and while it wasn’t exactly easy, Kaneki could always only imagine how much worse it must be on Hide.

“I’m fine,” Kaneki insisted and set his cup at his lips so he had a good excuse to stop talking.

“Then you won’t mind an old man voicing his thoughts?”

Even though the words built a question, Kaneki was sure that he hadn’t been asked one. And though he was frowning slightly, he just nodded, not really feeling like he had another possibility.

“The first time you came here together with Nagachika-kun, I was really surprised. I, of course, have always been aware of Nagachika-kun’s presence in this ward but he had not really made himself known. Most ghouls build some sort of group or have at least one person they keep in touch with. Nagachika-kun though never really integrated into the ghoul community like that. You know that his parents were human?”

At this Yoshimura stopped talking and looked at Kaneki expectantly until he showed a sign of this being nothing new to him. Hide had been taken in by his parents, both doctors, when he was around three. He possessed no memories of the time before that and it had never really bothered Hide – at least that was what he had said. Kaneki wasn’t all too sure if he should believe him.

“After their death- well, I was worried about Nagachika-kun. I thought he’d be without support and expected he’d come here. But he never turned up on our doorstep for help. I thought Nagachika-kun wasn’t all too educated about how we ghouls live as he was raised by human parents, but it seemed like I was worrying for nothing as he continued living like he always had.”

Kaneki remembered the funeral of Hide’s parents rather vividly, mostly because he had been crying the whole time while Hide had been the one to offer a shoulder to cry on. Hide’s home had always been somewhat of a safe haven while Kaneki’s own home had been cold and lonely. He had liked Hide’s parents so their deaths had hurt. Nowadays Kaneki wondered if the reason Hide hadn’t cried was because the caskets of his parents had been empty and he had been eating his next meals while crying.

“And then rumors came flying in,” Yoshimura continued. “About a ghoul that fought dirty – with words rather than his Kagune – and was not above using the CCG for his own agendas. A lot of ghouls don’t want to mess with Nagachika-kun simply because it’s less of a hassle to just ignore him. I believe he was very lonely and that he didn’t have anyone to talk to about everything. I’m glad he has you now, Kaneki-kun. So, please, excuse me if I am overstepping my boundaries as a bystander by saying this, but if there is something on your mind, talk with Nagachika-kun. Whatever is going on between you right now, you should sort it out.”

With those words Yoshimura seemed to have told Kaneki everything that had been on his mind. Once again the human found himself admiring the man in front of him. Yoshimura must have seen so much, know so much- it was no wonder that he was in charge of Anteiku and the 20th ward despite his gentle nature.

“Hide,” Kaneki found himself saying, “has been acting rather strange in the past weeks and I can’t figure out why. Yoshimura-san, is there a reason Hide could want me to wear his clothes?"

In the first moment the ghoul appeared perplexed, but then one of his kind smiles showed itself.

"Ah, that’s an interesting question."

Kaneki leaned forward as the man seemed to think about it for a minute, before slowly realization seeped in.

“Kaneki-kun, you know that ghouls have heightened senses?”

“Yes,” he replied immediately. It was the reason Hide worse his headphones so often, they dulled the sound of the people around him as especially his hearing was very sensitive.

“About three weeks ago when you were here together with Nagachika-kun, another ghoul was here. A violet haired woman by the name of Kamishiro Rize. I believe she expressed interest in you and not in the peaceful ways Anteiku tries to spread in this ward.”

That statement confused Kaneki. Why should a ghoul wanting to eat him, which wasn’t anything new to him anyway, lead to Hide setting everything on trying to get Kaneki to wear his clothes?

“Excuse me, Yoshimura-san, but I can’t follow you. What does that got to do with my question?”

By now the man was definitely amused, Kaneki could tell by the way the corners of his mouth had gone up even a bit more, and by the sparkle the man’s eyes had adopted.

“Like I said before: To most ghouls it is a hassle to deal with Nagachika-kun, Kamishiro-kun isn’t excluded from that. Therefore they tend to avoid laying hand on something that obviously belongs to Nagachika-kun. I think the reason he wants you to wear his clothes, is that through his scent on his clothes, most ghouls will know not to touch you. He probably panicked a little when hearing that a ghoul as strong as Kamishiro-kun wanted to take a bite,” - or more, Kaneki added mentally – “, out of you.” 

And as Yoshimura smiled, Kaneki found himself staring blankly at the older man. That just had to be a joke. Hide was acting like- like a _cat_!  
Kaneki groaned and dropped his head on the café’s counter. How was he supposed to react to _that_? The statement already screamed _woah, embarrassing conversation ahead_ and frankly Kaneki didn’t want to deal with that. Nevertheless, he’d have to sooner or later. The sound of two people entering shop, Hinami’s excited _“Nii-san!”_ and Touka’s _“what are you doing here already?”_ though told him it would probably be later. Not that he minded.

_(tldr.: Hide stressed and didn’t know what to do so yeah, “maybe wrapping Kaneki in clothes that smell like me is a good idea.” #genius)_


	3. Lovesick Icarus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Greek mythology is neat and also blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sudden inspiration hit me and this happened.  
> Still using the Ghoul Hide Week prompts. This ones is Tasting/Friendship.  
> Warning for angst.  
> Enjoy!

What angered Hide the most was not the fact that it had come to this, but rather that he had always known that it would end in bloodshed but he'd been so selfish still and dragged Kaneki down with him. 

Kaneki was innocent, he was human. He could have lived a normal life far away from all and any ghouls, far away from any danger, away from _Hide_. Yet he decided to follow the blonde, trusting Hide to keep him safe.

Was it Kaneki’s naivety that had to be blamed for this situation or Hide’s blatant overestimation of himself? Perhaps both were to fault.

Otherwise Hide wouldn’t be kneeling on the hard concrete, drenched in Kaneki’s blood. And Kaneki, his silent, precious, brave friend, was resting with his eyes close, appearing already dead, with gaping wounds all over his body. Most were Kagune shaped bleeding monstrosities, only a few were smaller and shaped like bite marks.

“You’re like the sun, Hide,” Kaneki breathed between cries of pain. “And I’m the lovesick Icarus who can’t stay away.”

Hide hated himself for how much he enjoyed the taste of Kaneki’s flesh and how much strength it gave him all while Kaneki was bleeding out beneath his fingers because of him.

“Another bite,” Kaneki whispered, his voice barely even there anymore.

But Hide shook his head vehemently. He wasn't going to kill his friend, he’d rather die by Arima’s hands than become the one who took away Kaneki’s life.

“I can’t,” he said, his vision blurry from the tears he was crying. “I don’t need to. We can escape-”

Kaneki smiled slightly, his face already as white as snow and all around him the smell of an utterly delicious meal that made Hide want to throw up.

“It’s alright, Hide. We’ll be fine.”

Hide stared at Kaneki, waited for him to move his hand to his chin, to show any of his usual tells. Surely Kaneki couldn't believe that they'd actually make it out of here like this. Kaneki was on the verge of dying and Hide was too weak to even think about taking in any investigators. The black haired man wasn't stupid, far from it, he knew this situation was hopeless. They wouldn't be able to get out of this place.

“One more bite,” Kaneki spoke up again, wasting even more desperately needed energy.

“I won’t kill you!” Hide shouted in turn, his voice echoing in the wide halls of the underground.

“Lovesick Icarus,” Kaneki reminded him. “And this is the ocean.”

Every emotion Hide had kept inside before, know broke free, overwhelming him. He was laughing and crying at the same time, the absurdity of their lives being the greatest tragedy humanity had to witness since the fall of man. He hated Kaneki for wanting to die for him as much as he loved him for the same.

“What am I supposed to do without you?” Hide cried out just before he finally gave into his friend’s pleading and the wonderful scent around him.

“Live.”


	4. These Hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's talk about Hide's parents(' death).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dark chapter.  
> Day 4: Touching/Family

“We’re family,” his mother had said to Kaneki when he’d come to them in the middle of the night, his eyes red from crying. She had pulled him close and hugged him. They way Kaneki had reacted to it told more about everything that had ever happened to him than the file kept at the child protective services.

Hide himself couldn’t remember ever feeling unloved or unwanted by his family. How could he when his mother had hugged him every time she left for work and his dad had held his hand up for a high five when Hide left for school. 

Hide could never have experienced feeling unloved when he never had to feel hunger.

His parents were humans, by all means they should have killed him or handed him over to the CCG when they saw his eyes turn black and red as he spit out everything they had fed him. They hadn’t though.

What Hide had experienced was loss and self hatred.

His mother had always smelled nice. She had been flowers and spring, a fresh breath of air after staying in a closed room for too long. His father had been autumn leaves on the ground, warmth against the cold air.

They had tasted accordingly.

A car crash of all things had killed them, leaving bloody corpses which were nothing more than food to him.

Every dead human was food and every living human a life to be treasured.

Hide had grown up and lived by that maxim every day, yet he couldn’t help but hate himself, be disgusted by his being, cry and scream and hope for his hunger to go away. He didn’t want to eat his parents, mutilate their bodies past their recognition just so that he could sate the beast within him.

But his stomach didn’t care all that much for Hide’s feelings as it continued to scream at him to finally eat and devour the feast in front of him. For the first time since he could remember, Hide had been hungry. Never mind the fact that it had been so long since Hide could eat his favorite body parts and not just whatever flesh his parents could smuggle out of the hospital.

So Hide had hesitatingly reached for the first bite, and then it was already too late.

everything afterwards had been a mindless eating and enjoying every bite as tears rolled over his cheeks and blurred his sight.

But in the end Hide had been full. The faint pangs of hunger that had grown into terrible pains that wouldn’t let him sleep at night all disappeared.

Hide had been full and content.

And on top of it all he couldn’t even cry at his parents’ funeral. Empty caskets had been lowered into the ground, the finality of his parents’ death only then reaching many of the attendants. Kaneki had cried hard enough for the two of them, having lost his family a second time.

Throughout the entire funeral he didn’t let go of Hide’s hand as if he were afraid that the blonde would disappear too.

Funny how Hide was always the clingy one between the two of them and now he’d prefer it if he could pull his arm away from his friend. Kaneki shouldn’t have to touch him when it had been these hands that had torn open the body of Hide’s parents.

_[Hands around the_ _**Doves** _ _throat, how had it come so far? When he had promised himself so long ago that these hands wouldn’t hurt_ **_him_ ** _?]_

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! And while all of this is set in one AU, don't expect me to keep up a time line here.


End file.
